April 2024 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Smollett Atty Wants Sanctions Over Missing Therapy Records
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

Smollett Atty Wants Sanctions Over Missing Therapy Records <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1830704?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…> By Celeste Bott An attorney for Jussie Smollett has asked an Illinois federal judge for another round of sanctions after two brothers who allegedly helped stage a hate crime against the actor failed to turn over discovery, saying they've refused to turn over records or answer questions in the defamation suit pertaining to their mental health treatment. Memorandum attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1830704?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1830704?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…>

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JPMorgan Remains the Second Largest Money Market Fund Manager, Despite Needing Billions in Money Market Bailouts from the Fed in 2020
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/04/jpmorgan-remains-the-second-largest-… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: April 30, 2024 ~ The Office of Financial Research (OFR), the federal agency created after the financial crash of 2008 to keep federal banking regulators on top of threats to financial stability, has posted an interactive chart showing the largest managers of Money Market Mutual Funds in the U.S. Alarmingly, the parent of the largest and riskiest bank in the United States – JPMorgan Chase – is also the second largest Money Market Mutual Fund manager. According to the OFR, as of March 31, 2024, JPMorgan was managing $657.9 billion in money market funds, second only to Fidelity, which on the same date was managing $1.3 trillion in money market funds. The data comes from Securities and Exchange Commission Form N-MFP2. JPMorgan’s federal regulators have failed to stem the bank’s growth despite the fact that JPMorgan Chase has been tapping massive bailouts from the Federal Reserve since the last quarter of 2019, as well as being charged with nonstop crimes. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Fed created an alphabet soup of emergency lending programs, one of which was the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF). When the Fed finally released the granular details two years later of which firms tapped the emergency facilities, it showed that 10 of JPMorgan’s money market funds needed to borrow a combined $8.97 billion on the MMLF’s very first day of operation. The $8.97 billion represented 32 percent of the $27.15 billion in funds loaned that day by the Fed’s MMLF. JPMorgan money market funds’ liquidity problem on March 23, 2020 appears to have centered on JPMorgan’s tax-free money market funds holding billions of dollars in New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA’s) short-term revenue notes. Those were prominent among the instruments submitted as collateral to the Fed for loans from the MMLF. The MTA notes apparently could not be sold by JPMorgan to meet redemption requests without causing the money market fund to break the buck. Money market mutual funds are expected to trade at a stable $1.00 per share. It is known as “breaking the buck” when money market funds trade for less than $1.00 per share. Breaking the buck occurred at several money market funds during the financial crisis of 2008 and increased the financial panic occurring at the time. To stem the run on money markets in 2008, the U.S. Treasury was forced to take the unprecedented step of guaranteeing money market mutual funds. Why JPMorgan’s money market funds had such concentrated exposure to one municipal issuer’s notes should warrant the attention of its regulators. JPMorgan was also an outsized user of the Fed’s Primary Dealer Credit Facility. The transaction data released by the Fed showed that at the end of the first 11 business days of operation of the PDCF, on April 3, 2020, the Fed had an outstanding balance in the PDCF of $49.5 billion and the trading unit of JPMorgan had borrowed $14 billion of that, or 28 percent of the total. JPMorgan’s need to tap the emergency repo loans from the Fed, which began on September 17, 2019 – months before there were any reported cases of COVID-19 anywhere in the world – was also deeply alarming. According to the quarterly data releases by the Fed for its emergency repo loans (after a delay of two years), the trading unit of JPMorgan (J.P. Morgan Securities) borrowed $2.59 trillion in term-adjusted cumulative repo loans in the fourth quarter of 2019 (see chart below) and another $3.6 trillion in the first quarter of 2020. Fed's Repo Loans to Largest Borrowers, Q4 2019, Adjusted for Term of Loan When the Fed released the shocking details showing that a unit of the largest bank in the United States needed enormous sums of emergency cash in the fall of 2019, it should have made front page headlines in every newspaper in America. Instead, there was a complete news blackout among mainstream media and the major business press.

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DOJ Not Required To Probe Alleged Bias In Boston Contracts
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

DOJ Not Required To Probe Alleged Bias In Boston Contracts <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1830360?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> By Brian Dowling A Boston federal judge won't second-guess a U.S. Department of Justice decision not to investigate allegations of systemic racism in the city's municipal contracting practices, deferring to the department's finding that it lacked jurisdiction for the claims. Opinion attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1830360?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1830360?nl_pk=4126fe73-…>

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Fed. Circ. Gives HP Unit 2nd Chance To Challenge Camera IP
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

Fed. Circ. Gives HP Unit 2nd Chance To Challenge Camera IP <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1830652?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> By Dani Kass The Federal Circuit on Monday revived a debate about whether FullView Inc.'s panoramic camera system patent should be invalidated as obvious, while affirming a California federal judge's decision that HP unit Polycom Inc. infringed that patent. Opinion attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1830652?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1830652?nl_pk=4126fe73-…>

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Fearless Girl' Trial Off After Sides Reach Weekend Accord
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

Fearless Girl' Trial Off After Sides Reach Weekend Accord <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830539?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> By Pete Brush A lengthy breach of contract and trademark infringement dispute between investment manager State Street Global Advisors and the artist behind New York City's well-known "Fearless Girl" bronze sculpture settled Saturday evening ahead of a scheduled jury trial. Letter attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830539?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830539?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…>

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Terraform Says SEC's $5.4B Sanction Bid Fails Under Morrison
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

Terraform Says SEC's $5.4B Sanction Bid Fails Under Morrison <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1830727?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> By Aislinn Keely Crypto firm Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon struck back at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's $5.4 billion sanctions request following its trial win, filing dual briefs Monday that argued the regulator has only shown that "a small number" of allegedly illegal token sales took place in the U.S. and under its jurisdiction as outlined in the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison decision. 2 documents attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1830727?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1830727?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…>

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Justices To Weigh RICO Injury Scope In CBD Case
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

Justices To Weigh RICO Injury Scope In CBD Case <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830304?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> By Sam Reisman The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case brought by a trio of CBD companies asking the justices to establish whether a plaintiff can bring a personal injury claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830304?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830304?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…>

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Dentons, Boies Schiller Hit With $300M Fraud Suit
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

Dentons, Boies Schiller Hit With $300M Fraud Suit <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830821?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> By Emily Sawicki The owner of a company that attempted to contract with Senegal to develop a power plant in the African nation has filed a $300 million racketeering suit against Dentons and Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, accusing the BigLaw firms of fraud and extortion in connection with their allegedly botched representation of the company. Complaint attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830821?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1830821?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…>

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'Tornado Cash' Crypto Fraud Wasn't Free Speech, Feds Say
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

'Tornado Cash' Crypto Fraud Wasn't Free Speech, Feds Say <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1830711?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> By Elliot Weld The founder of the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency exchange is mistaken in his arguments that First Amendment protections on computer code are grounds to dismiss his money laundering and sanctions-dodging charges, prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge. Memorandum attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1830711?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1830711?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…>

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NY Mag Readers Say Privacy Damages Enough For Fed. Court
by Gunnar Larson 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

NY Mag Readers Say Privacy Damages Enough For Fed. Court <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1830576?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…> By Danielle Ferguson New York Magazine subscribers told a Michigan federal judge that "simple math" would show they clear a $5 million federal court damages threshold to bring a class action alleging the publisher disclosed their data to third parties, urging the court to ignore the magazine's bid to toss the case. Response attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1830576?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1830576?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…>

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